We've produced multiple comics, an ongoing time travel campaign and an expansion entitled "The Secret War" for Era: The Consortium so far.

We're now hoping you'll help us take the next step, to expand this universe further - the Consortium is an amazing place, a universe with massive scope, which we love helping you to experience!

To achieve the best work we've done yet, we have brought together a team of industry veterans to work alongside our existing creative, writing and artistic teams. You'll know their work from other places such as Vampire: The Masquerade, the new Conan RPG, 7th Sea and many more (as well as the other Era Games in many cases, of course!).

Together, we've prepared no less than 18 expansions to the Consortium universe.

(And don't worry, if we meet that many Stretch Goals, Ed has quite a few more ideas...!)

Each brings a new dimension to gameplay: from psionic abilities to rules for trading cargo, from information on sub-factions within the Resistance to an explanation of what really happened to the Orion's crew in the Albiorix system and from memory sharing through cybernetics to the ability to construct a support system for growing forces.

We are also offering source books for each race, which will bring not only a history for that race and how they reached the Consortium, but new and unique equipment for each!

We're going to bring you more expansions as we achieve Stretch Goals - the initial funded goal will bring you 3 expansions, but the further we get, the more expansions you receive!

We have a few tiers of special note:

Claymore Unit (£25)

For those of you who want to complete your collection of Consortium books in Digital format, this is the right choice.

It offers the Core Rulebook and Rulebook Primer, along with all the unlocked expansions, all on Digital format!

Operative (£40)

This tier is ideal for people who want to start out in the Consortium universe.

It offers the Core Rulebook in Physical Format and every unlocked expansion in Digital Format.

Company Representative (£80)

This tier offers the Hardback Core Rulebook, along with the chance to get your favourite 3 expansions in Paperback! You get the remaining ones in Digital format as well, of course.

Senator (£160)

For people who love their RPGs to be in Hardbacks, there's nothing that will measure up to this!

This Tier gives you the first chance to get hold of the brand new Definitive Edition Rulebook along with all of the expansions in Digital Format.

It also gives you the chance to get the special set of Hardback expansion books alongside the Definitive Edition Rulebook!

Era: The Consortium is a Hard Sci-Fi tabletop roleplaying game of adventure in space, where you can play as Human or Alien in a universe filled with possibilities.

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content.

Replay with sound

Play with sound

00:00

00:00

The Consortium is a huge, interplanetary society, comprising of multiple alien races who populate three star systems. The government of the Consortium is one where financial power gives one direct political power. As a result, the eight most powerful companies effectively rule over the Consortium, defending their monopolies and manipulating each other and the population in an unending struggle for power.

The Resistance has responded to this by attempting to overthrow the Big Eight. Although they are labelled terrorists, many fight for the good of the people.

You can join either faction as a member of any of 5 playable sentient species who inhabit the Consortium, choosing from huge numbers of backgrounds and decide where in the 500 years of history you wish to play. You might...

...be one of the first colonists on a new world, far from Earth.

...explore strange, new worlds.

...make first contact with an alien race no-one has encountered before.

...fight in a war where the very existence of the Consortium hangs in the balance.

...join a Resistance movement and fight to save 14 billion lives from a plot by powerful individuals.

For example, you may begin as a terrified civilian, forced into combat, but you'll have abilities that will keep you alive and ahead of the Smertios Security soldiers who are pursuing you.

You'll have your chance to become a trusted member of the Resistance, or to join another company within the Consortium for protection... You won't be worrying about equipment - you'll be given whatever it is you need or desire to complete your mission.

This game gives you a universe of choices. Fight with a faction or choose your own path.

Want to know what a session sounds like? Check out the "Dice and Stuff" podcast of their game as the Resistance's "Claymore Unit" here!

Reviews

"Era: The Consortium is a truly unique SF. The mechanics […] certainly work really well and complement a game that distinguishes itself through a rich history, the opportunity to play in different time periods and a multitude of genre and style options a GM can choose from."

Talking About Games did a detailed review of v0.7 of The Fifth Race expansion, offered with this Kickstarter. It includes comments on everything that you can find inside:

"The only game I have ever played that got grapple rules right - they were simple and easy to follow."

"An absolute beginner to tabletop games, I picked up the rules quickly and was having fun within half an hour on my first session!"

"I find one of the strongest points of your game to be the massive amount of story and options for your character to take when customising them."

Podcasts

Ed talks to longtime fans and podcasters Dice and Stuff about Era: The Consortium and other games!

Ed talks about Era: The Consortium, Shades of Vengeance and games in general with Willem from Ice Cream for Everyone: Part 1, Part 2

The Era d10 ruleset is designed to allow you to experience this universe in a way that is as unobtrusive as possible without being misrepresentative. By choosing your skills carefully, your character can dominate in any of 5 forms of combat, talk their way out of any situation or protect their teammates from harm.

The rules could be described as "A Success-counting dice pool system where you roll Attribute + Skill in d10s and the difficulty of the task determines which numbers count as Successes."

In case that was a bit too brief or jargony, here's a bit more detail:

The system is based around multiple dice - the more skilled you are, the more dice you have - and a variable goal based on activity difficulty.

Using an Attribute and Skill system, which each define their own areas of influence, you roll your dice depending on what you're attempting - whether Dexterity + Engineering for a precision piece of work, Intelligence + Engineering for a more theoretical problem or Luck + Engineering for a complete long shot, you'll be able to adapt to your circumstances and focus on your strengths.

Although you roll more dice the more skilled you are, the number you are attempting to reach varies depending on the difficulty of the action - if shooting someone in clear conditions, the GM would ask for a 7. If someone was laying a mine, more likely a 6. Firing over your shoulder at someone 30 metres away, while crouching behind a low wall would definitely be a 10!

Rules-in-Action Videos

Character Creation - In this video, I create a Smertios Security Guard called John Smith to give you an idea of how it works!

Grapple Rules - In this video, John Smith faces off against the famous Ximian Worker Styxtirian in a grapple to the death!

Ranged Combat Rules - In this video, John Smith goes up against drunken sniper Alex Gyter and proves that not every shot he fires is lethal!

Persuasion Rules - In this video, John Smith faces his greatest challenge yet, a persuasion attempt from Steve Adams, the Voice of the Resistance!

Each of these Expansions bring a new dimension to gameplay for Era: The Consortium - we feel it is important for an expansion to truly add something new and different to a session!

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content.

Replay with sound

Play with sound

00:00

00:00

While some bring new rules, others bring unique equipment or new portions of history.

(Requires Rulebook Primer or Core Rulebook to play)

The destruction of the Orion brought with it the revelation that, for centuries, Hayden Bank had been using operatives who were given advanced technology and training to manipulate the Consortium. Whatever means are required, from blackmail to data theft, from clandestine negotiation to planting evidence, are placed in the hands of the Shades.

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content.

Replay with sound

Play with sound

00:00

00:00

The Secret War brings players the opportunity to take on the mantle of a Shade or, on the Resistance side, a Phantom (operatives trained to defeat Shades) in addition to their other roles. Gain access to new implants, weapons and ships and fulfil your own mission alongside your party!

(Requires Rulebook Primer or Core Rulebook to play)

The arrival of a new species in the Consortium is met with typical brutality by Smertios Security; they are shot down on Lugus. First Contact proceeds amazingly well, under the circumstances. Shortly afterwards, a group of convicts on Sirona make a discovery under the ice which will change the Consortium for ever...

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content.

Replay with sound

Play with sound

00:00

00:00

The Fifth Race brings not only the Pliangrathilon as a playable race, but a new range of equipment, weapons and armour to the players, almost 50% as much again as was in the Core Rulebook! It also provides rules for weapon and armour enhancement through crafting.

(Requires Rulebook Primer or Core Rulebook to play)

Neither the Consortium nor the Resistance can operate without information. Rapier Unit is the central point where all of that information is processed, but it also carries out its own missions.

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content.

Replay with sound

Play with sound

00:00

00:00

Rapier offers a new approach to hacking in Era: The Consortium. Within a computer's virtual environment, an experienced hacker can be as good at Combat as any of their soldier teammates! This expansion includes the rules for "immersive hacking", examples of the programs found within the systems and multiple programs that can be used to defeat them!

(Requires Rulebook Primer or Core Rulebook to play)

The Consortium faces a cataclysm, one which cannot be prevented in this time. You have been trained from birth for a singular mission - to travel back to the beginning of the Consortium and reshape it.

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content.

Replay with sound

Play with sound

00:00

00:00

The newly re-edited Campaign includes a brand new prologue, pre-made characters and currently 30 sessions, along with a list of equipment, armour and weapons to help you on your mission.

For The Future!

(Requires Rulebook Primer or Core Rulebook to play)

"I will never forgive myself for my role in these events." - Gueya, CEO of Gaia Adaptation and Adjustment.

Theft of an experimental compound from the Gaia Adaptation and Adjustment laboratories on Belisama results in both the Resistance and the Consortium setting up their own test facilities... this accidental discovery provides Consortium races with Psionic powers!

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content.

Replay with sound

Play with sound

00:00

00:00

A New Dawn offers players the chance to gain psionic abilities such as mind control, memory draining, telepathic linking and mind lash! It contains all the relevant rules for this, along with describing the inevitable decline into madness characters with these abilities undergo.

(Requires Rulebook Primer or Core Rulebook to play)

Revival gives you the chance to bring Survival Horror rules into Era: The Consortium, a crossover we've been asked for quite a few times since Era: Survival came out!

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content.

Replay with sound

Play with sound

00:00

00:00

Revival's campaign is an intricately-woven set of mysteries in the best traditions of the Survival Horror genre, with brand new weapons and equipment not seen in the Core Rulebook, along with detailed maps of every level of the mining vessel Sadoko!

And many more under construction!

We're offering our other games to anyone who wishes to pick them up!

40% Creation of the Expansions!Every penny that isn't used for getting the rewards to you will be used for development of the expansions! This will include artwork, writing, layout, editing, proofreading... everything we need to get the expansions made, short of printing (see below!)

10% Kickstarter FeesKickstarter takes its usual 8-10% cut. We'll transfer anything that doesn't get taken for that straight into creation!

50% Printing and ShippingExperience has taught us that the majority of the costs relating to any Kickstarter are getting the rewards out to you guys, safely and in a timely manner. We've had a fair bit of experience now (this is actually our company's 15th Kickstarter!), so we're confident we'll be able to fulfil in a way you'll be satisfied.

Ed Jowett is the creator, project manager and insomniac behind Era: The Consortium. He's overseeing all of the expansions, along with writing the majority of them himself. He loves the Consortium universe and says he's never going to let it stop growing!

Steffie de Vaan has been working on a few of the expansions, and has taken the lead writing role on the Resistance Handbook, working with Ed. Steffie's previous experience in the RPG industry is extensive, including Vampire: the Masquerade, 7th Sea and Conan!

Sally Christensen has lent her extensive experience in editing (gathered from all kinds of projects, not the least of which are 7th Sea and Conan!) to the expansions, making sure that they come out at the top-notch level of quality you guys have come to expect!

Darren Watts has joined the team to work on the exploration aspect of Era: The Consortium, taking the lead post on the New Worlds expansion. His previous experience is extensive, including much of the Hero Games output and Champions!

Johnathan Lewis was the co-writer on Era: The Consortium and the book wouldn't have looked the same without his input. He's taken the lead story writing role for Revival, along with comics and various bits of writing on all of the expansions!

Amy Allworden has been a staff writer for Shades of Vengeance since Era: The Consortium's development started. You might know her as The Oracle, or as the writer for the stories in Era: Lyres, but anything you've read has passed in front of her eyes at some point. We're pleased to welcome her back!

Jennifer Martin has been working with us since Era: The Consortium started. She wrote some of the more memorable stories in the Core Rulebook, and we are delighted to invite her back to add her talent to the expansions we have ahead of us!

Sophia Michailidou is an experienced artist whose style has shaped the artwork of Era: The Consortium since the Rulebook Primer! She's returned to the team to do work on all of the expansions!

Victor Adame Minguez has lent his amazing talent to Era: The Consortium's Core Rulebook. He's brought the universe to life in a way that we believe will captivate your imagination as much as it does ours!

Johnathan Chong is an extremely talented artist who's joined the Era: The Consortium team to help illustrate many of the expansions. From avatars inside a computer to mental powers to alien artifacts to pirates boarding ships, Johnathan has never failed to impress!

Calyie Martin is the last line of defence between Ed's predictive text and your eyes. The proofreader extraordinaire has been reading over the Era books for some time, providing suggestions and catching all the things Ed missed!

Leo Cosh is the Sound Designer behind much of what you hear in the audio content on this Kickstarter. He's a self-confessed "cyberpunk guy", and so he and Ed are working on an Expansion focusing on that aspect of Era: The Consortium!

Freddie Rawlins has been working with Ed as a playtest GM on Era: The Consortium for some time. They are now working together on the Predictive Genetics Expansion, which will allow you to create your own alien races!

Graeme Penman has recently taken over responsibility for writing campaigns in our new format, and is working with Ed on the Time Travel Campaign!

Jonas Spokas is the lead artist on Revival. Working with him on bringing the Survival Horror aspect of Era: The Consortium to life has been great fun!

Martin Popovski has worked with us on several Kickstarters now, doing the video editing for our main videos (at the top!). He's done the same here, and we think it came out great!

Every unlocked book is given to all backers in Digital Format!

Risks and challenges

This is Shades of Vengeance's 13th crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, including multiple Core Rulebooks.

While we haven't been mistake-free, we've always delivered on or ahead of time (except for Lyres where a delay was agreed with Backers to give them more content!). Each successive Kickstarter builds on the lessons learned from the previous, and we learn fast. At this point we're confident in our ability to deliver the rewards we're committing to and to keep you informed if there are any delays.

The biggest individual challenge for this Kickstarter is managing a team of artists and writers from all over the world. We all live in different timezones, so coordinating is a huge logistical challenge. Although the initial books are mostly finalised, we have a lot more work to do on many of the further expansions. Ed's a Project Manager by trade and has some experience in this area, however!